Kurama's Challenge
by CCD
Summary: Sequel to Hiei's Dare! Memories are the most precious gifts you can have. When Kurama loses them all, can his friends and family help him regain the bonds that he lost or will he sever all ties and remain in darkness?
1. Memories

_**Kurama's Challenge  
**_**_Chapter 1: Memories  
_****February 18, 2007  
****By CCD

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**A/N: I just wanted to explain something real quick. In the English version of the show they call Kurama's stepbrother Kokoda. I'm changing it to that because the two Suichi thing confused me when I did it in another story. Sorry if this bothers anyone. Also if you write questions or comments in your reviews, I have a forum on to answer them. Please check that out (Link in my biography as well as a excerpt from the next chapter). Enjoy!

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**MEMORY** – 1. The particular act of recall or recollection  
2. An image or impression of one that is remembered  
3. The time within which past events can be or are remembered

_Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary_

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The streets were silent with the exception of the soft pattering of rain on the asphalt. It was a dreary Saturday morning and anyone who was in their right mind would be sleeping. It was odd however for one particular person in the Minamino household to be sleeping in, and that was exactly what he was doing. 

The red-haired teen still occupied his bed. His body was tangled in crisp white sheets. His arm clutched one of the pillows on the bed; the other had fallen to the floor sometime during the night.

The young teen was completely oblivious to the world around him. It was almost unheard of for him to sleep in that late. Most days found him up before the sun rose, however, the stress of being on a detective team, and taking care of his scholarly duties was taking it's toll on his human body. The need for sleep became more and more necessary as challenges presented themselves.

Unbeknownst to Kurama, someone opened the door with the stealth of the spirit fox himself. A dark haired teen slipped his head into the room. He smirked when he saw that his friend was still sound asleep in his bed.

He slipped the rest of the way into the room. Padding on silent feet he approached the sleeping figure, collecting the discarded pillow from the floor. As he took another step, the floor creaked under his feet. The teen stopped and glanced at his friend.

Kurama only rolled onto his back. The grin on Yusuke's face only widened. This only made his prank easier. The detective continued his approach to the bed. He stood over the red head and placed the pillow about a foot from the sleeping figure's head. He was about to press the pillow down when a voice startled him.

"Really Yusuke, I would think by now you would know better than to try and sneak up on me like that."

"Well, damn Kurama, a guy's gotta try! How do you do that?" Yusuke asked with a laugh.

Kurama smiled and opened his emerald eyes before pushing himself up into a sitting position. Yusuke backed up and plopped in Kurama's desk chair. He let his demon friend wake up before expecting a response.

"I heard the creaking of the floorboards and I felt you watching me. It also didn't help that I noticed the blocked sunlight when the pillow was over my face."

"Well that's the last time I'll try and sneak up on you. You take all the fun out of it."

"What are you doing here, Yusuke?" Kurama asked wanted a reason for the prank and why Yusuke was in his home.

"I've got a favor to ask you. Grandma called and told me she wanted me to come to the temple today for some stupid reason that she wouldn't tell me over the phone. Do you think you could watch Hiei for the day? He's determined to spend today studying for Akashi's stupid science test on Monday and refuses to come with me."

The fox demon sighed. Yusuke had been taking care of Hiei for the past five months since he was on probation. The Spirit World stripped away his demonic powers when they discovered that Hiei had violently attack two teachers who had decided to piss him off.

"And where is Hiei?" he asked hoping the detective hadn't let the former fire demon alone.

"Downstairs, I think your mom is trying to make polite conversation and you know how much Hiei doesn't like to talk.

Kurama sighed again. He knew that if Hiei was left alone with any member of his human family for long, there would be hell to pay. With the return of his powers only a month away, there was no doubt in Kurama's mind that revenge was not far from Hiei's mind. As it was, Hiei was moodier as ever and hated the idea of being babysat. After all, who would want to be looked after if they knew that they had the potential to be stronger?

"Go sit with him for a bit, and let me get more presentable Yusuke."

Yusuke nodded before throwing the pillow on the bed and exiting the room. The red-haired teen stretched and untangled himself from his sheets before climbing out of bed. He took a quick shower and dressed in a pair of jeans, a white tank top, and a red button up shirt that he left open. He padded barefoot downstairs to a sorry sight.

Hiei was squished between Yusuke, and his younger stepbrother, Kokoda, who were teasing him mercilessly. Kurama's mother called Kokoda into the kitchen to help with breakfast, leaving Hiei and Yusuke in the living room. As soon as he left, Hiei scrambled to get away from Yusuke. He glared at the detective.

"I hate you," Hiei hissed between clenched teeth.

"Calm down, Hiei. We were just teasing you. After all you shouldn't be such a bookworm. Have some fun every once in a while."

"I don't do fun, detective."

"All right," Kurama said as he climbed down the rest of the stairs, "enough fighting."

Yusuke's smirk was back as Hiei folded his arms across his chest and sulked. Kurama was amazed at how much Hiei had changed in five months. The fire demon was a bit more open with his feelings and opinions.

"Well, I've gotta go find out what the old hag wants. I'll see you two later," Yusuke said, before he left.

Kurama glanced over at Hiei who was watching Yusuke leave with a scowl on his face. At the sound of the door shutting, the red-haired demon noticed that the dark-haired demon relaxed.

"Does he really make you that uncomfortable, Hiei?"

"…Only when we're around others."

They were silent for a moment. Kurama could hear his mother setting the table. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was about 9:30. It was still semi-early considering how late he slept. It was a bit of a shock that Yusuke had dragged himself out of bed to drop off Hiei and then go to Genkai's temple. The sudden silence was broken when Shiori stuck her head through the kitchen door.

"Suichi, breakfast is ready. Will you be joining us Hiei?"

"No thank you. I already ate."

"I'll be right there, mother."

She smiled and with a quick nod ducked back into the kitchen. Kurama turned to watch Hiei grab his bag off the floor and take out one of his textbooks. The shorter one plopped on the couch and started to read. The taller apparition smiled before entering the kitchen. His mother smiled as he entered the kitchen.

"So, what are your plans for the day, Suichi?"

"I don't know yet. Yusuke had to go visit a friend today and asked me to keep an eye on Hiei."

"I didn't even know that they were related until a few months ago. It's strange that he's been your friend so long and we just found that out about them."

"Hiei doesn't talk about his family much. His parents passed away a few months ago and he's been living with Yusuke and his mother since."

"I remember when you told me about that terrible accident. I feel so sorry for him."

"He's doing well, mother. Yusuke actually dropped him off today, because he wanted to work on his studies. I'll probably get him out of the house later on today. Yusuke told me last week that Hiei needs to go shopping for clothes since some of the ones he has are falling to pieces."

Kurama saw his mother nod before she headed to the table. As she turned a sharp pain shot down his right arm. He grabbed his arm and for a few seconds he lost his composure.

The fox demon glanced at his family; they hadn't noticed. He didn't have time to question the pain in front of them. Kurama flexed his hand and slowly moved his arm. The pain was gone.

He pushed it to the back of his mind and walked to the table and sat down. His family engaged in lively chatter. Kurama listened quietly to his stepbrother who was talking about what he was planning on doing this weekend. His stepfather discussed a project they were trying to market at work and his mother discussed the latest news that had appeared in the paper that morning.

Kurama was always silent at breakfast. He had learned that it was better to listen. Listening was valuable for gathering information. Kurama knew his family so much better than they knew themselves. There was nothing of importance to learn from that day's conversation, but being with his family created a sense of peace within him.

At the end of breakfast, Kurama started to help his mother clear the table. Since Kokoda had helped set the table he was obligated to help clean up, however he wanted to get back to Hiei. His mother stopped him with a smile and gently grabbed Kokoda by the back of the shirt before he exited through the door. He was trying to sneak behind her.

"Kokoda volunteered to help me with the dishes already, Suichi. Why don't you go and keep Hiei company? Actually, why don't the two of you get out and go do something while the rain has stopped?"

"Thank you, mother, I think that I'm going to take him shopping, like I said earlier. I just need to get him away from his textbook first," Kurama said grateful that his mother could see how much he didn't want to leave Hiei alone for too long.

"Have fun," Shiori said in a sing-song voice as her son exited the room.

Kurama saw Hiei was now lying on the couch, still reading the textbook he had pulled out earlier. The fox demon gave a knowing smirk before approaching and plucking the book from Hiei's hands. The ex-fire demon instinctively tried to snatch the book back only for Kurama to pull it further away. He scowled.

"Give it back, fox!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that Hiei. My mother wants us to get out of the house and according to Yusuke; you need some more clothes and a new school uniform. He also mentioned new shoes."

Hiei glared at the smirking fox. He knew that there was no way that the fox was going to back down about leaving. The stubborn ex-apparition sighed.

"Let's just get this over with quick. Going shopping is hell enough, but better with you than Yusuke."

Kurama watched as Hiei reached into his bag and pulled out a black leather wallet. Hiei noticed Kurama looking at the wallet. He shrugged.

"Koenma decided that I should have my own money to spend. I think Yusuke told him I needed clothes and put money in a bank account for me."

"Just another way for you to fit in to the Human World I suppose. Shall we go?"

Hiei nodded and the two of them grabbed their coats. Kurama called to his mother to tell her they were leaving. After grabbing an umbrella in case it started to rain again, the two of them exited the house not knowing what the day would bring.


	2. Disasters Big and Small

_**Kurama's Challenge  
**__**Chapter 2: Disasters Big and Small  
**_**August 17, 2007  
****By CCD**

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I've been so busy with work and school that I've been lacking the motivation to write. Not that I'm going to stop, but I've had much more of a need to sleep than to write. I hope to get some more writing done this weekend, but if not, I hope to have some new stuff up soon. Enjoy!**

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**Disaster** – _**1.** A sudden calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, or destruction_

_** 2.** A sudden or great misfortune or failure_

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"Kurama, do we really need to go into another shop?" Hiei asked behind a pile of bags and boxes.

"We have to get you a new uniform and shoes still Hiei. This is where we'll get you a new uniform and then we'll go to the shoe store and then we'll be done and can go back to my house."

"Fine, but why do I have to carry all of my clothes. You could help me carry them."

"…but it's fun to watch you carry all your stuff," Kurama teases knowing that Hiei couldn't do anything about it.

As if on cue the ex-apparition snarled behind the boxes as they entered the shop. Kurama quickly talked to the sales person and got the right uniform. Hiei sulked as they measured him for alterations. The smallest uniform they had was still too big for Hiei and although they had been through this kind of thing before.

They would have to come back after shoe shopping to pick it up. The two of them then went to the shoe store and got Hiei some new sneakers and shoes he could wear to school. As an after thought, Kurama even grabbed the shoes they wore as they walked the school halls.

They paid, and quickly went back to the store for the uniform. Then the two of them returned to Yusuke's apartment to drop off the clothes. The house looked like a tornado had swept through it.

"Hiei, how long have you lived in this filth?"

"Only a day or two, Yusuke's mother had a party and Yusuke didn't want to clean up after her and neither did I, so we left it like this. Besides, it's not like we stay here during the day. We mostly sleep when we're here."

Kurama sighed. He still couldn't see how the two of them could live in this.

"Fox, if it bothers you that much then you clean it. I'm going to put all of this stuff away."

Hiei walked over the trash covered floor and into the bedroom he shared with Yusuke. Kurama sighed again and walked into the kitchen to start on the dishes in the sink. Afterwards, he started on the trash. Hiei came out and watched him pick up the trash. Kurama glanced up at him and gave him a look that said, 'you could help me you know.'

Hiei shrugged and silently began to help him. They worked at a rapid pace till they had two large bags of trash. They placed the trash in the kitchen and looked back at the apartment.

"Well it's not perfect but it's better than it was. How about we go out for lunch; it'll be my treat," Kurama said.

"Hn," was Hiei's response.

Kurama took it as a "yes" and they left. The duo walked in silence till they reached a small café that Kurama liked. The fox order for the two of them before turning back to Hiei. His friend was looking out the café window at the people walking around outside. The red-head sighed and decided that Hiei wasn't in the mood to talk. Instead he studied his dark haired friend, trying to discover what he was thinking about.

"Fox, no matter how much you stare, you aren't going to figure anything out."

"You just looked so lost in thought; I was trying to see if I could read your mind."

Hiei scowled and Kurama laughed. Of the two of them, Kurama was much more comfortable with being in the human world than Hiei. Kurama had spent more time in the human world and knew how to deal with people. Hiei had spent limited time with humans and preferred open spaces and his own kind. However, the last couple of months hade made him get used to being among humans. Hiei did still try to distance himself from them.

"I'm not thinking of anything in particular. I just realized that in exactly one month, I'll have my powers back."

"You still have to finish your dare with Kuwabara."

"Hn...I know. Don't worry. I'll complete it. That fool needs to be shown that I can do the same things that he can without any trouble."

"You said that before all this happened and now that you…"

"Just drop it, fox"

They ate in silence and allowed themselves to think. When they were done, Kurama paid and they left to take a walk down the street. Kurama decided to break the silence.

"What are you thinking about, Hiei?"

"…Just everything that's happened over the past couple of months since I took this damn dare."

Kurama smiled, but dropped it when he heard a rumbling noise. He looked around and noticed that Hiei did the same. Obviously, he wasn't the only one that heard the only one that heard it.

"What is that," Hiei asked as the noise became progressively louder.

The Earth began to shake violently beneath the two friends. They lost their balance and fell to their knees. The road and sidewalks began to break around them

"It's an earthquake," Kurama yelled above the noise, "We have to get out of here. These buildings could collapse under this pressure."

"I thought they could withstand earthquakes," Hiei retorted trying to stand.

"Not one this great."

They couldn't get to their feet. Even Kurama with his exceptional demon strength and balance couldn't get to his feet.

"Damn it, Hiei cursed as the road began to break near him.

"Hiei!"

Hiei looked up to see rubble from the building began to fall towards him. Terror gripped him and he froze. He was going to die like a pathetic human would. A shove to his side sent him flying out of harms way. He turned back to see Kurama lying where he had once been. The fox demon gave a sad smile before the rubble fell on top of him.


	3. Disequilibrium

_**Kurama's Challenge  
**__**Chapter 3: Disequilibrium  
**_**August 17, 2007  
****By CCD**

**A/N: **I'm soooo sorry about my lack of updates. With my insane schedule and hard core writer's block, I can't update my stories like I used to. I hope this was worth it and if not…tell me by voting for this story in my poll on my bio page. Thanks!

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**Disequilibrium – **The unbalance of an intellectual or emotional state

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Hiei opened his eyes to see a white ceiling. He could smell the antiseptic smell of a hospital. The ex-fire demon groaned catching the attention of the room's other occupant.

"Hiei, you awake?"

He looked to his right to see Yusuke standing over him. His face held a great deal of worry and confusion.

"Are you okay?"

"What happened?"

His voice sounded hoarse and it hurt to talk. Yusuke helped his comrade sit up before handing him a glass of water.

"Man, if I knew that the earthquake was going to do this much damage, I would have tried to take you with me. I didn't hear about it until I tried to catch the train back into town…" Yusuke said unaware that Hiei had tuned him out.

It came back to him quickly. The earthquake…the rubble…feeling helpless…Kurama…

"Kurama,"

"What?"

"Kurama, what happened to Kurama?"

Yusuke opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something and then quickly closed it. How could he ever tell Hiei what happened?

"Just spit it out detective. I can handle it."

"Some of the other people on the street saw Kurama get crushed and you over exerted yourself and passed out. By the time they pulled him out and air lifted the both of you to the hospital, Kurama wasn't doing so good. He stopped breathing and when they got him to start breathing again; they discovered he was in a coma."

"A coma?"

"I'm not exactly sure what it is, but he won't wake up. He won't respond to anything the doctors do to him and according to Koenma, he's hurt much worse than he should be."

Hiei was shocked. Kurama had been thrown into rock plenty of times; he had been injured, but nothing to the extent the Spirit Detective was telling him. Something more was up than simply being crushed by rubble.

"What else did that fool say?"

"That fool is standing on the other side you and if you don't want to remain a human a little longer I suggest you start treating me with the respect I deserve," a teenage form Koenma said as he glared at the person on the bed.

"I wouldn't say that Koenma. One, he'll never respect you, and two, the longer you keep his powers away from him, the more he will roast you over a fire," Yusuke said with a smirk.

"This is why he's going to swear over pain of eternal damnation and remaining in the human world for the rest of his life, that he understands the consequences of his actions and cannot hurt me before I give him back his powers."

"Koenma, tell me what's wrong with Kurama before I find the strength to strangle you with my bare hands."

"Fine, I'll tell you what happened," he paused before continuing, "Over the past couple of months, Kurama's human body has been under a great deal of strain. I haven't found the exact cause of the strain, but I think that you have noticed that he's been sleeping longer and had you gone on any missions lately you would have noticed his fatigue as well as slower reaction time."

"And how do you know all this, pacifier breath?" Yusuke asked in a serious tone.

"I noticed the fatigue and decided to keep an eye on him. He's actually been having some pain in his right arm, but it happened the day of the earthquake, so I don't know if it's related though, but I suspect that it is."

The trio was silent. It was so simple, but it was complicated. Koenma didn't know the cause and that worried them.

"I'm going to keep investigating into what caused this."

"Koenma, what's going to happen to Kurama, now?" Yusuke asked seriously.

"I don't know. We are just going to have to be prepared for everything. I'm going to head back to Spirit World now and see what I can dig up. I want the two of you to keep track of Kurama's condition and report back to me."

"Right," Yusuke said as Koenma disappeared.

The teammates sat there in silence. Yusuke studied his temperamental friend's blank face. He wanted to know what Hiei was thinking about.

"I hope you're not going to get all morbid again over this. Kurama choose to push you out of the way, you know."

"I know. The stupid fox made his choice."

"Why do I hear a 'but' at the end of that?"

"You don't. When can I get out of here?"

Yusuke sighed, "They want to keep you here overnight since you passed out on the street, but I'll be back to get you first thing tomorrow if you want."

Hiei didn't reply. Yusuke took that as a 'yes.'

"Well, I'm going to let you get some rest. I'll be back in the morning to get you out of here and we're going to Grandma's to see if she's got any ideas. See you tomorrow Hiei," Yusuke said as he grabbed his jacket and left the ex-fire demon alone with his thoughts.

Hiei couldn't get the image of Kurama smiling just before he was crushed out of his head. He would never understand why the fox did what he did and despite his one time rescue attempt, he would never do something like that again.

_Stupid fox, why did you save me?_


	4. Patience

_**Kurama's Challenge  
**__**Chapter 4: Patience  
**_**August 17, 2007  
****By CCD**

**A/N: You guys voted and this was in the number two spot! Keep voting on the poll in my profile to make it number one and get a faster update.**

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**Patience** - the capacity, habit, or fact of being steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity

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"Damn, it's been a month and they still haven't been able to clean up all of this. Why are they making us go back to school," Yusuke asked to no one in particular.

"Why do you ask such stupid questions, detective?"

The taller raven haired teen looked down at the shorter. Hiei's face was buried once again in one of their textbooks.

"Why is it you always have you're nose in a book?"

"I'm not going to answer that, because you already know the answer."

The two teens became quiet. Yusuke had tried banter to lighten the mood. He had noticed that his companion's mood had been even grimmer ever since he was released from the hospital. Yusuke knew that until Kurama was awake, everyone would be on edge hoping that their red-haired friend would be OK.

The duo walked through the gate surrounding the school and looked up to see the tall building they knew as their hell. Since the school had only sustained minor damage, they had wanted to open the school earlier, but after parents rallied together, the school put off getting their students back. That is, until now…

"You know, they really have their priorities screwed. We shouldn't be back in hell," a voice spoke from behind them.

Yusuke turned to see Kuwabara. He was staring at the building as well. Kuwabara lowered his eyes and faced Yusuke.

"How's Kurama?"

"Hasn't changed and Koenma is still working on his end, or so he says."

"Well he needs to figure out something soon. We need him back on the team."

"Yeah," Yusuke replied as he watched Hiei walk away from them and into the school.

"What's up with the runt?"

"I think he's worried about Kurama too, though I don't think he'd say anything."

"Shorty's worried? That's not like him at all. He's always like…"Kuwabara paused, and then in his best Hiei imitation, "Kurama can take care of himself."

"Yes, but I think it's different now. He still doesn't have his demon powers back and Kurama did get hurt protecting him. They're really close, even if they both don't admit it."

"So Urameshi, what do we do?"

"What can we do? We're just going to be patient and wait," Yusuke said before scoffing at his own statement, "I hate waiting."

"Don't we all. Let's head to class, it's not like we have anything better to do standing around here. Who knows, we might be able to find some way to cheer shrimp boy up."

"I doubt that."

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The day dragged on as the students tried to readjust to being back in school. Yusuke kept his attention mostly on Hiei, though the ex-demon acted as normal as he could in his situation. He answered questions when called on, wrote down notes on the lectures, and insulted Kuwabara's intelligence during their lunch.

Soon the final bell rang ending their first day back to school. Most of the students headed out in a hurry. Yusuke watched as Hiei gathered his things at a steady pace and then approach him, only to pass him and head out the door. The taller teen could only watch as Hiei retreated and he couldn't bring himself to follow. He knew that Hiei was probably going to go visit Kurama and wanted to go alone.

"Yusuke is something the matter?" Keiko asked as she looked at her friend's concerned face.

"Me…worried? No, I was just wondering how Kurama was doing you know…" he paused as he saw Keiko's sad face.

_Damn, I was trying to lighten the mood, I shouldn't have said that._

"Sorry, I was just…"

"It's okay. I understand," Keiko said, knowing her friend meant well, "How is Kurama, I haven't heard anything recent."

"Nothing's changed. Doctors say that the longer he's in the coma the less likely he's going to wake up. That and because of the time it took for the paramedics to respond, they don't know if there's any more damage. They can't find out until he wakes up…if he wakes up."

They were quiet for a moment before Keiko smiled a little.

"Things will be okay, we just have to be patient."

"I hate waiting."

They paused before laughing out loud. It felt good to laugh when they had been so worried about their red-haired friend.

"I should be going. My parents wanted me to come home and help with some more of the repair work on the shop."

"Yeah, I need to head home and wait for mister grumpy to come home."

She nodded and left without another word leaving him in the classroom alone. Yusuke grabbed his bag and took off towards his home. He was surprised to see Hiei was already there.

"What took you so long detective?"

"Keiko caught up with me, so I stayed behind to fill her in."

They both sat in an awkward silence before Yusuke went into his bedroom. He didn't feel like doing much of anything fun, instead he decided against his usually sane self and did his homework before lounging on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

Hours passed and he heard his mother poke her head in to tell him to watch the house for a while because she was going out. He didn't respond but he rolled over and began to watch out of the window. After some time he heard the phone ring. Begrudgingly he got up and hurried to grab the phone before the answering machine would pick up.

"Hello, Urameshi residence."

"Is this Yusuke Urameshi?" A woman's voice asked hesitating silent.

"Yeah," he replied wondering what he could have done now to piss someone else off

"Yusuke, this is Shiori Minamino, Suichi's mother," she said before pausing

Recognition kicked in and Yusuke found himself feeling dumb for some reason.

"I'm sorry to call you at such a late hour, but I knew you would want an update on my son's condition."

Yusuke heard the hesitation in her voice.

_Please say he didn't get worse._

"He woke up about an hour ago."

He let out the breath that he didn't realize he had been holding, but something didn't feel right.

"That's great, is there any way we could come and see him tomorrow."

"Well…I…I don't know if that would be such a good idea," she stammered before replying quickly.

"Is something wrong?"

"He woke up, but…but," she said sounding like she was close to tears making the teen panic.

"It's okay. You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."

"No, you need to know. He woke up, but he didn't know who he is or anything else."

"What?" Yusuke said puzzled.

"He woke up with amnesia."

And with that, Yusuke dropped the phone. It clanked on the floor with a startling bang causing Hiei to come into the room, but all Yusuke could hear was Shiori Minamino final declaration.

_He woke up with amnesia._


	5. That Which is Forgotten

**Kurama's Challenge – Chapter 5: **That Which Is Forgotten  
**Story Started: **August 17, 2007  
**Chapter Started/Completed: **October 6, 2008/October 6, 2008  
**CCD**

**A/N: **Sorry about my lack of updates. I'm working full time and going to school full time, so I've been working on my original works more than my fan fiction. That doesn't mean I've given up on them, just bare with my limited time for now.

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE (For your top three favorite stories that is!) This story dropped from the number two spot to be tied at number 3. If you want to bring it back up, then vote, vote, vote!

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Amnesia – 1. **Loss of memory due usually to brain injury, shock, fatigue, repression, or illness  
** 2.** A gap in one's memory**

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"So what do we do now, Koenma?" A calm, but sad voice said as he talked to the toddler on the briefcase screen.

"I don't know. There isn't really a cure for amnesia, so we have to find a way to either deal with it, or gradually jog his memory, so that he remembers who he is. It's not something we can rush. If we try, Kurama could shut us out because he doesn't believe us, or it could send him into shock. We should try to avoid both situations at all cost."

"Do you think going in and talking to him might help?" Keiko asked from where she sat on her boyfriend's bed.

"Well, it couldn't hurt, but Kurama's human mother should have time to be able to tell him who all of you are. Take it step by step and earn his trust. That's all I can tell you to do for now."

With that, the screen went blank and the members of the detective team were left in silence. Yusuke straddled a chair closest to the now blank screen. Hiei sat in the window sill above the bed. Shizuru, Keiko and Boton sat on the bed while Kuwabara and Genkai sat on Hiei's futon.

"I say we at least go and visit him. Kurama's mother can't keep us away forever," Keiko said with enthusiasm despite the gloomy room.

"The problem is that we need to be rational about this. We need to see him in minor groups as to not overwhelm him," Genkai said firmly, "Hiei and Yusuke were probably the ones he was closest too, so it's possible that they might be the only ones who can get this job accomplished."

"That's not the real problem though. Kurama's mom won't let us anywhere near him. She treats him like he's a child to be kept away from the world or something," Yusuke replied in the same calm and sad voice he had used with Koenma.

Yusuke was actually more hurt than he realized. When Kurama's mom had thwarted several attempts to see him, they had gotten frustrated and stopped all together. This made everyone depressed.

"You have to show her that you may be the only hope she has at regaining his memories," Genkai replied, "Hiei, have you made any attempt to try to see him?"

"What do you think, old woman?"

"I'll take that as a no. In any case, I believe that whether or not you care, you can at least act like it enough to get the rest of them in. After all, you were there with Kurama that day and if she thinks you want to help out of guilt or if she sees concern from you. It might help us to get in and help."

The team all looked at their dark haired companion in the windowsill. They waited to see if Hiei would respond at all to the predicament placed in front of him.

"Do you really think that I will make all the difference to that woman?"

"I do. She knows you were with Kurama and she knows that you are friends of sorts. Because of both of those factors, you could make her feel guilty enough to let you and whoever you bring with you in to speak to him. The closer you get to him, the more he might remember."

There was another awkward silence as they waited for a response. Would Hiei actually try to get in to see Kurama, or did he not care as usual?

"Fine, let's go Detective."

* * *

"It's out of the question. I cannot let you in to see him in this condition," Shiori Minamino's voice said to the two disgruntled teens in front of her.

"Why not?" Yusuke asked, angry that even with Hiei the two of them couldn't get by.

"He doesn't remember you. He doesn't even remember himself. I won't subject him to that or any conniving on your part."

Yusuke began to see red. He was about to say something when Hiei spoke up.

"That's awful low, and I thought you knew us better than that."

Shiori's eyes went wide as she looked at the shorter teenager in front of her.

"You seem to have forgotten that I was with your son the day that he was hurt. He was hurt to save me. Tell me, would your son do that for someone who was conniving or unworthy?"

"Well…no…I don't…" she stammered.

"He's not going to get any better if you keep him behind lock and key. If you let us try, maybe we can get his memories back and if we can't maybe we can help him make new ones."

Shiori looked like she had punched in the gut. She didn't know what to say.

"What can you do that isn't already being done?" she asked barely above a whisper only to hear Yusuke respond.

"We can show him, that we won't abandon him…that we will do our best to rebuild the bond that was broken when he lost his memories."

"…And if you hurt him?"

"There is no process in life that doesn't require pain. It's a matter of learning how to stand on your own feet and progress further," Hiei said looking at Shiori with a calm expression.

"We cannot promise that he won't be hurt, but we can show him that when he is hurt, he has people he can rely on to get him back on his feet again," Yusuke said.

Kurama's mother couldn't say any more. She could see that they really did care in some sense of what happened to her son.

"All right, but at least let me go in and talk to him. Let me tell him who you are."

The dark haired duo nodded and followed her to a room. On the tag outside was the sole name of Suichi Minamino written on it.

"Wait here, and I'll go talk to him.

They watched as she walked into the room and closed the door behind her. The two of them could hear a faint, muffled conversation on the other side of the door. It seemed like forever before the door opened again to reveal Shiori with a small smile on her face.

"Go ahead in, but please don't stay long. The doctor said that he needs as much rest as possible."

"We'll try to make this brief, if we can come back again tomorrow and see him."

"He has some tests in the morning, so…"

"We have school, so we'll come in the afternoon," Yusuke said.

She nodded before she turned to walk down the hallway to give the boys some privacy. Yusuke turned to look at Hiei.

"Are you sure you're up for this?"

"Probably not, but we might as well get this over with."

They taller teen opened the door to the unusually bright room. It was like any other hospital room with it's machines and the stench of medicine, but it had a brighter feel to it. The blinds on the windows were open to let in light. On the wall with the windows was a hospital bed. Kurama was propped up in the bed and was looking out the windows.

He was paler than usual with a few cuts still on his face. His hands were bandaged and an IV dripped into his right arm. His long red hair had been pulled up and off of his face and neck giving him a more girly look. Yusuke would have laughed if the situation hadn't been as serious as it was.

Neither of the dark-haired teens knew what to say to the red head. They looked at each other with skepticism. Who knew that this would be so awkward?

"The two of you can come in you know. I don't bite," a warm, familiar voice said.

They looked over to see that Kurama hadn't removed his eyes from the window as he spoke.

"Sorry, we just didn't really know what to say."

"It's all right. My mother was the same way, though the doctors eased that for her," the red-head look away from the window and towards them this time.

It took a moment to take in his '_friends'_ as his mother had referred to them as. Neither one of them looked even vaguely familiar to him. The doctors had told him he had lost a great deal of his memory, so it didn't really surprise him, that he couldn't remember them. He did feel guilty however, and a little jealous. They knew him, but he didn't know them at all.

"You only have to tell me once, but who is who."

"I'm Yusuke, and Mr. Grumpy still in the doorway is Hiei."

"Would it odd to say nice to meet you?"

"It is a little bit odd, but I think it's at least justified," Yusuke said as he flipped a chair around and straddled it.

Kurama watched as Hiei also approached. His mother had told them that they were cousins and that Hiei's parents had died a few months ago. Because of that, Hiei was a little detached, but apparently Hiei was with him on the day he was injured.

He looked between the two cousins. They had similar features, but they were different somehow. Yusuke seamed more laid back and a bit of a prankster. Hiei was…well…serious. It was hard to believe that they were among his friends, but then again, he didn't know who he was. One thing that the he did feel was that he could trust them, which was irrational considering he didn't know them.

"I do have to say. It's hard to see you like this, Kurama."

"Kurama?"

"Oh yeah, you would be used to being called Suichi don't you? Kurama is sort of a nickname that came from a really long story. We'll get to another time; your mom didn't want us to stay long."

Kurama almost smiled. His 'nickname' seemed more familiar to him than Suichi was.

"She's been very protective of me. I reluctantly admit that because I have no memories, I am a little bit vulnerable. She's worried about someone taking advantage of that."

There was a small pause before Yusuke opened his mouth.

"I know it will take some time to be able to start trusting us as friends again, so this may mean nothing too you, but we won't take advantage of you. We want to do what we can to help you get your memories back."

"And if that's impossible?"

"We'll deal with that as we go. That's about all we can do right now," Hiei said.

Kurama looked at the shorter teen. It had been the first time he had opened his mouth since they had arrived. The cousins' words made him hopeful.

"Thank you, both of you."

* * *

A little while later the dark-haired duo was leaving the hospital. They had been kicked out by frantic Shiori. Yusuke had been trying to make Kurama laugh, when the red-head had a bit of a coughing fit. When she had heard the coughing, she came in and pushed the two of them out the door. With a quick promise to return the next day, they left with a huge weight off their shoulders.

"Well, I'd say all-in-all today was a good day," Yusuke said with a smirk on his face.

"Hn," Hiei replied.

"What's with you? You've been crabby all day. At least we now know he's doing Ok."

"Detective," the ex-demon said in a warning tone.

"What?"

The shorter teen, glanced over at the taller teen. They stared at each other for a few minutes, before Hiei spoke again.

"If you repeat anything I said to Kurama or his mother today, I will kill you."


End file.
